Rights Protection and Advocacy Services for persons
in state facilities have long been a top priority for
the Alabama Department of Mental Health. In October 1997, the department greatly
enhanced this effort, when the Internal Rights
Protection and Advocacy Program officially expanded its
role, and began providing services to persons being
served in community programs that were under contract
with the department or programs which were certified by
the department.

With a staff of 26 certified advocates working out of
five service area offices across the state and in the
central administrative offices, the internal advocacy
program provides a non-adversarial system of rights
protection and advocacy that focuses on rights awareness
and prevention of rights violations. These advocates
provide Individual Advocacy Services such as information
and referral, rights complaint investigations and
resolutions, as well as System Advocacy Services such as
state facility compliance monitoring, community program
certification services and rights education and training
programs.